Abby's speech to the school assembly

How often do you say, ‘I can’t?' Do some things feel impossible? Well what if I told you nothing is impossible, and it has to do with your mindset. I know its cliché and it's overstated, but it is true because your mind is your limit.

I'm going to start with a personal story. Last year the most I had ever run was 5km with walking and never considered myself as a runner. But I was going to Outward Bound at the end of that year, so I had to work on my fitness. Some days I hated running and I had negative thoughts whizzing round my head, I can't do this, this is impossible, I’m just not built for this, why am I doing this. This led to me having a bad run and not trying my hardest. one of the activities at Outward Bound was a half marathon. I knew this was going to be a massive challenge for me, but I did it. I wouldn’t have achieved this if I was telling myself that it's too hard and I can't do it. I did the opposite and told myself I could do it and to just keep running. There's no doubt about it, I was so glad to see the finish line and at times it would have been faster walking than running but I'm so glad I kept going, kept positive and didn't stop.

The quote "your mind is your limits", doesn't just apply to running but it can apply to every aspect of your life. Think of how many times a day you say in your head that somethings too hard or you can't do it. Now think of all the different areas of your life it applies too. It could be school, sports, a hobby or chore. For example, in class when your teacher gives you a hard task we sometimes sit back, say we cant do it and give up. A lot of the time we say we can't do it and we haven't even tried yet which is an excuse we all use. By saying we can’t do it we are giving into the fear and admitting to defeat. We are saying these negative sentences over and over in our life ending so many opportunities and chances of success. We are constantly doubting ourselves that we are not good enough when we should be doing the opposite. We need to hype ourselves up so that we can do it and it is possible because if you think you can, you will succeed because your mind is your limit.

One thing I've noticed over my life is when we were younger, if we said we can't do something like climbing the monkey bars, the comeback was always can’t isn't a word or can't isn't in the dictionary. I'm sure some of you have heard this too. I used to get angry when my parents used to say this, but now, I understand why. I was limiting myself and my parents were trying to challenge and push me. Whereas now we don't get told that we are capable of more and can do the impossible. We have some massive curve balls chucked at us and therefore it is important that we learn how to push ourselves and have a positive mindset.

I want to challenge you all next week to try and create a positive mindset by not saying I can’t, or it is impossible. For example if your coach tries to challenge you to a new skill, just give it go. Give things a go that you never thought you could do; see how much better you feel and how much you can achieve by simply changing your mindset. I will end on a quote by Roy Bennett “It’s only after you’ve stepped outside your comfort zone that you begin to change, grow, and transform.”